GOA POLICE EAGER TO TRANSFER CUSTODY OF VARGHESE TO CBI BUT NOT THE DRUG CASES

PANJIM: In what appear to be an enthusiasm of the Goa Police to transfer the custody of Varghese to the CBI rather than the police drug-nexus is extremely interesting. It appears that the Goa police are very much eager to transfer Ranjit Varghese accused of kidnapping his own son to the CBI for extradition. It would have been nicer had they shown this enthusiasm to transfer the police drug nexus case to the CBI.

With no response from the CBI despite two reminders asking them to take custody of Ranjit Varghese, whose arrest and extradition to the US to face trial was sought by the American Consulate, the Anjuna police have written another letter to the investigating agency requesting them to take him into custody immediately. The pleas come subsequent to an order from an American court and fears that Varghese might be released on bail soon.

"We have written to the CBI requesting them to take custody of Varghese as there is a red corner notice issued against him to the Interpol. We fear that if the CBI doesn't act soon, he may be out on bail," said a police officer.

It may be recalled that Varghese, an Indian citizen, was wanted in a case related to the abduction of his seven-year-old son from his ex-American girlfriend. The American woman, Marcela Oleson, a US citizen, won the custody case of the child in a US court. Oleson had obtained an order from the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) court which said that in view of the order of the Maryland court granting custody of the minor child to the mother, the Anjuna police should assist the mother to get custody of the child. However, Varghese managed to evade authorities until the police zeroed in on him.

Varghese and his son were traced in Anjuna and he was arrested on December 19 under Section 41(g) of the CrPC. The consulate general of USA, in a letter to the Goa police on December 16, had requested the provisional arrest of Ranjit Varghese. "The US department of Justice and the US National Central Bureau for Interpol has transmitted red corner notice to the Interpol general secretariat for dissemination requesting the location and provisional arrest of Varghese for offences, including passport fraud. The US Embassy will be requesting the extradition of Varghese to the US under the extradition treaty," the letter from the assistant regional security officer of the American consulate in Mumbai, Viktor Karabin stated.

Incidentally, Varghese had fraudulently obtained a US passport for his son by falsely representing himself as a US citizen in the application, Oleson's counsel said. He also attached to the application a forged statement of consent from Oleson, which was falsely notarised indicating that Oleson's consent signature was true when it was in fact forged. After obtaining the passport, he abducted his son and fled to Germany on August 12, 2010. From Germany, he later descended into Goa.